Refrigerator



April 9, 1929. w, BQDMAN 1,708,461.

REFRIGERATOR Filed March 25, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet l April '9, 1,929. w L.BODMAN 1,708,461

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. 5 y I I Patented Apr. 9, I929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WALTER LIGHT BODMAN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE INSULATION COR-PORATION, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

REFRIGERATOR.

My invention relates to improvements in refrigerators, and the generalobject of my invention is to make the art of refrigerating either inhouses, hotels, cars, or other places,

simpler, cleaner, and less expensive than at present. In the attempt toconserve refrigerants and prevent radiant losses, the most general typeof wall construction is to make the containing walls of refrigeratedspace of layers of more or less flat insulating materials, or to attemptto produce a dead air space in the walls, or in some instances a vacuumor partial vacuum. This wall construction makes an expensive, heavy, andnot very efficient construction. The objectof my invention is to improvethis part of the refrigerator, using the term in its broad sense, bymaking the walls of spaced light materials which are rendered imperviousto air, and then preferably by filling the contained space with numerouscells in the form of cheap waterproof impervious cartons which can befilled with a dry, heavy gas, such by preference as anhydrous carbondioxide, which is of low conductivity. Thus it will be seen that if thewalls are impervious, and the space between them filled by these cartonswhich do not align vertically, no convectional or other currents can beset up and a very complete insulation is obtained, so that whatever therefrigerant or whatever the interior construction, I get the advantageof small losses through the walls of the refrigerating chamber.

Another object of my invention is to produce va structure in which ice,which is the cheapest form of refrigerant now known, can be used to muchbetter advantage than at present. While ice is a cheap refrigerant, itsuse is very annoying and ineffective for very 4 many reasons. Asordinarily used, it has to be renewed at frequent intervals, and itsrefrigerating efi'oct varies to such a degree that when a full supply isplaced in the refrigerator it will at first chill the interior of thechamher to a greater extent than is necessary, and as the water runsaway and the ice melts, ultimately the cooling effect is so small as tobe of practically no use. Furthermore this renewal is a very nastyoperation, and annoying to those who are dependent on it or who use it.

I have found that by using closed containers or batteries of containers,and freezing the liquid in them, then with proper wall construction andproper circulation the renewals 65 of the batteries or containers onlyneed to be -j y Application flied March 25, 1926. Serial No. 97,392.

made infrequently because the refnigerant as it melts does not run towaste, and the water produced by melting serves as a regulator toprevent the rapid melting of the contained ce, and to absorb the heatfrom the surrounding chamber more gradually so that in this way therenewals need be made only at very long ntervals, and in addition thenastiness and inconvenience of a waste pipe through which the melted iceruns is avoided.

Another advantage of this system is that if (l GSIIOd the container maybe filled with material having a very low melting point. These and otheradvantages of my improvements will appear more clearly from thedescription which follows.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part ofthis specification, in which similar reference characters indicatecorresponding parts mall the views.

Figure 1 is a front elevation of an ice box showing my improvements.

Figure 2'is a vertical section on the line 2-2 A of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a front elevation of an ice box with the doors removed andillustrating my improvements.

Figure 4 -is a cross section on the line 44 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a vertical section of the box in a plane parallel with thefront and back of the Figure 6 is a broken rear elevation with the backpanel of the box removed, and

Figure 7 is a cross section on the line 7-7 of Figure 5.

The drawings are by way of example, because obviously so far as theconstruction of the walls, doors, etc. of the refrigerator is concerned,it can be made in a great variety of sizes and designs without affectingthe invention. The refrigerator should have a skeleton frame which canbe of any approved construction, but as I have shown a rectangularrefrigerator, I have consequently illustrated 100 it with uprights 10and 11 at the back corners, corner posts 12 and 13 (see Figure 4)separated in pairs 14 at the front corners, a. central vertical brace 15at the back of the refrigerator, and horizontal braces 16, 17, 18 105and 19, disposed to give the necessary stiffness to the frame. Obviouslythe framework or braces of the frame can be disposed as desired withoutaffecting the invention in any way. In the upper part corresponding tothe 110 ice box I have shown vertical braces 20 at the rear and 21 atthe front, and also a cross brace 22 at the front of the partcorresponding to with upper and lower doors 25 and 26 arranged in theconventional way, and these may be of any approved construction. I haveshown them hollow to make them less conductive of heat, and if desiredthe space in the doors can be insulated after the manner of the rest ofthe wall, but ordinarily this is not necessary. The important feature ofthe wall construction is that the space between the outor and innerwalls is broken by a great number of cells or cartons 27, which can beof paper treated to make them water proof and air tight, and thesecartons are filled with a gas of low conductivity, preferably a heavygas like anhydrous carbon dioxide, although other gases might-be used,or the carton might be made-so that each would be more or less of avacuum. The cartons are of a length to extend from one wall to the otherso as to fill the space between the two walls, and I have shown them asordinary cylindrical cartons, but they can be given any shape desired.It will be seen, therefore, that the space between the walls while ofitself offering poor conduction, is so broken up by the cartons or cellsthat there is no opportunity for convectional currents, and that even ifthe cartons contained nothing but air, the insulation would be renderedmore perfect; but by treating them as specified, it is made very nearlyperfect. Furthermore it will be noted that this construction is cheap.

In the upper part of the ice box are chambers 28 arranged in the generalway after the manner of the ordinary ice box refrigerator, and eachcasing is preferably a substantially rectangular casing which fitsnicely in the upper part of the refrigerator and extends from the doorto the back of the refrigerator, the outer wall of each casing beingbent or otherwise shaped as at 29 in Figure 4, so as to form a fine 30between the casing and the side wall of the refrigerator. A continuation31 of this flue is formed between the top of the casing 28 and the topinner wall of the refrigerator (see Figure 5), and a still furthercontinuation is the down-draft fine 31 between the casing 28 and acasing 33 presently referred to and shown in Figures 4 and 5.

The casings 28 can be supported on ledges 32 or secured in anyconvenient way. The divisional or auxiliary casing 33 is arrangedparallel with and between the casings 28 and carries a removablecontainer 33 which can be filled with refrigerant, and ma or may not beused. It is in effect an auxiliary container, as will presently appear.

The front of the casing is closed by a plate or door 25 secured by bolts25", and the door or plate carries a series of removable hollow plugs 34which register with horizontal openings 35 in the container 33. Theseopenings 35 carry small drawers 36 divided by transverse partitions 37so as to form a series of water holding receptacles and these may befilled and left in the container so as to freeze small ice boxes fordomestic or other use, and to facilitate the withdrawal of the drawersthey are provided with suitable pulls 38.

The casings'28, of. whichtwo are shown,

but which may be of any desired number, carry the refrigerant containers39 which substantially fill the casing, leaving a little space betweentheir sides, tops, and that of the casing 28, and leaving a little spacebetween the containers themselves. These may contain water or liquidhaving a lower freezing point, and it will be seen that they have nodrainage, and therefore as the refrigerant melts, it does not run awaybut surrounds the ice as is melts, regulates the absorption of heat fromthe refrigerator, and tends to create an even low temperature for a verylong time in the refrigerator. The containers should be provided withhandles 39 to facilitate placing them in and removing them from theircasings.

Each casing 28 is provided with openings 40 arranged to come betweenthe-containers 39, andbelow the bottoms of the casings are slidingplates or dampers 41 (see Figure 5) having openings 42 therein, whichmay be placed in or out of registry with the openings 40 in the bottomsof the casings 28, thus regulating the circulation in thecasings aroundand between the containers 39. These dampers can be operated in anyconvenient way. As illustrated they are connected by a rod 43 which hasa sliding connection with the crank 44 on the shaft 45 extendingtransversely from front to rear of the refrigerator, turning in suitablebearings and having a dle 46 at the front of the refrigerator. Ifdesired the rod can be provided with an indicator or hand 47 moving overa graduated plate 48 to indicate whether the dampers 41 are in open, orclosed, or partly closed position.

Beneath the casings 28 and 33 is a division plate 49 (see Figure 5) madein the form of a shallow dish, deepest in the center, and arranged so asto leave a space 50 between the side edges of the division plate and theside walls of the refrigerator. The middle perthe lower chamber walls53. These chambers 53 are referably rectangular and fit snugly in theower part of the refrigerator, being open in front onl and havingshelves 54 arranged as desire They have openings 55 in the top toprovide for air circulation, and the adjacent side walls 53 of thecasings or chambers have openings 56 near the bottom as shown in Figure5. A funnel 57 is arranged below the flue 52, and has a very small vent58. This is not to provide for drainage of melted ice, but in case ofany recipita' tion in the upper part of the re rigerator or in the flue52, the slight water of precipitation will drain through the funnel andvent pipe. It will be observed that in the arrangement which I haveshown the 'containers of refrigerant can be handled as a clean drypackage and inserted singly or in batteries in the refrigerator, andthat when ber 54.

the refrigerant has become too warm, can be as easily removed withoutany messiness and others-substituted for them.

Referring to Figure 5, the warm air from the chambers 53 will risethrough the openings 55, pass upward through the spaces'50, deliver upits heat as it passes through the fines 30, 31 and 31', and descend coolthrough the flue 52. If desired the slots 40 may be opened too so thatfurther cooling may be had by reason of the air which enters the casings28, passing down between the containers 39 and fine 52 to the containingcham- From the foregoing description it will be apparent that I haveshown a refrigerator 0 simple and economical construction which ihasunusual heat insulation, and that the allowing the liquid as it melts tobe retained,

I keep a constant lar e cooling surface instead of a constantlyiminishing surface, as in the case where ice is used and the drainagecarried off. I wish to call attention further to the fact that the heavyinert non-conducting gas which I use as an insulating medium in therefrigerator walls can be confined in any suitable way without departingfrom the spirit of my invention.

I am aware that refrigerator walls have been made with cells embedded ina substance which makes the wall substantially solid and therefore morelikely to crack and be conductive, and I am also aware that gasesheavier than air are known to be good insulators and that it is old tohave a vacuum or vacuum cell as an insulating means, but in my inventionthe cells or cartons between the outer and inner walls of therefrigerator, are filled and thus continue to be insulative. Where avacuum is used either in a cell or wall, it is practically impossible tomaintain the vacuum under conditlons of use because the air will findits way in, but where the insulating medium is heavier than air it iseasily confined and the air cannot enter. Moreover by making the outerand inner walls impervious as possible to air and filling them with aheavier than air gas, the as is retained, and while it may not be thebest possible insulator, it is better than anydof the more or less solidfillers generally use In this case while I have described the manner ofmaintaining a refrigerant therein, the claims are confined to therefrigerator structure and other features are coveredsomewhat in my aplication for Letters Patent of the United tates Serial No. 97,393,filed March 25, 1926.

1. A refrigerator having a wall of spaced plates or panels with thesurfaces covered with metal foil rolled into intimate contact with saidsurfaces and with the space between the walls filled solely bytransverse cells.

2. A refrigerator having a wall of spaced plates or panels, each platehaving its outer and inner surfaces covered with metal foil rolled intointimate contact with the same, the spaces between the walls beingfilled with transverse tubular cells filled with an inert gas heavierthan air. 7

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification this17th day of March, 1926. 1

WALTER LIGHT BODMAN.

